More valuable: The freer of inclusions (better clarity), the more valuable the diamond.
✓ Investment: Top quality diamonds are preferred as investments.
✓ better for large diamonds: The larger the diamond, the more likely you are to see inclusions
Incredibly rare, flawless and internally flawless stones make up only 2% of gem quality diamonds. Therefore, they fetch high prices, especially in large carat sizes.
You will notice a huge price difference between an IF stone and a VVS stone. As purity levels go down, price differentials decrease exponentially.
Very Very Slightly Included (VVS):
VVS stones have tiny inclusions that are so small that they are barely visible under 10x magnification. Most consumers probably can’t tell the difference between F, IF and VVS diamonds.
Every stone in the VVS range still has extremely high purity and fetches a top price.
Diamonds with the grade VVS1 and VVS2 have an excellent clarity.
The imperfections in VVS diamonds are only visible under high magnification. Even a jeweler’s loupe is sometimes insufficient to see these imperfections.
Big diamonds:
The larger the diamond, the more likely you are to see inclusions, especially if they are in the center of the diamond, under the table. The tablet is the large facet at the very top of the diamond where most of the light enters the stone.
The larger the stone, the more visible the inclusions, simply because you have more surface area to look at. Look for stones much larger than one carat to have a clarity grade of VS or higher. For stones of one carat or less, VS or even SI grades are the standard. For small stones (under half a carat), clarity is not as important. The color grade is more striking.
Clarity is an important consideration when you are looking to buy a diamond. At the upper end of the purity scale, though not quite at the top, are VVS1 diamonds (very very slightly included). These are considered to be of excellent purity and are correspondingly more expensive (whereby with the rennet diamonds the price difference becomes greater to the advantage of the rennets the purer the stone is → it is therefore worthwhile 😉
When it comes to buying a diamond, the cut is probably the most important of the four C’s. A good cut brings out a fire and brilliance that can offset (and even hide) flaws and coloration.
Nevertheless, clarity can also have an impact on the beauty of the diamond you choose. Inclusions affect the way light reflects from the diamond back to you. The more inclusions, the less fire and brilliance a diamond will have.
When looking at diamonds, make sure you are magnifying them to see flaws and inclusions → video on PC.
What does the purity VVS1 mean?
Diamonds are graded on a clarity scale that measures how clear the diamond is and how many flaws or inclusions the diamond has, both internally and externally, when viewed at 10x magnification. Flaws and inclusions can be anything from small cracks or chips on the surface of the diamond to tiny crystals that were embedded when the diamond was formed.
It is quite difficult to find a diamond completely without a flaw. Even FL diamonds that are considered flawless can have flaws when viewed under high enough magnification.
VVS diamonds, whether VVS1 or VVS1, are very, very easily included. Despite some inclusions, these diamonds are considered to be of excellent clarity.
Remember that jewelers grade diamonds by clarity by looking at them under 10x magnification. So although flaws may be visible under magnification, a diamond (especially a VVS diamond) is most likely what is called eye clean.
This means that the diamond looks flawless to the naked eye. A VVS1 diamond will definitely look flawless even if you turn it in the light.
Very Slightly Included (VS) = “eye clean”:
VS stones are in the upper to middle range of diamond clarity grades. They have minor inclusions, which means that they do not affect the purity much, even if they are larger or more numerous than in VVS stones.
Although VS diamonds have a lower clarity grade, you cannot see their imperfections with the naked eye.
In addition: The inclusion types, inclusion location, inclusion frequency, etc. is different.
→ we help you find a “top VS diamond”.
Slightly Included (SI):
SI stones fall into the commercial grade. The inclusions are visible at 10x magnification, but most likely not to the naked eye. But “eyeclean” cannot be guaranteed. Still, an SI stone can appear duller and less brilliant, especially to someone familiar with fine jewelry.
Included (I):
In general, it’s not a good idea to buy I stones, even if they are technically gem quality. I diamonds have inclusions that are visible even to the naked eye. Furthermore, these inclusions can even affect the durability or wearability of the diamond, especially with I3 stones.